The Uwda and the Others
by Anonymaustrap
Summary: Juliette Sri is Chief Officer on the USS Oppenheimer. On a delicate but routine mission, she discovers a hidden, telepathic species on the planet who seem to feed off of the suffering of the native inhabitants. The Prime Directive forbids interference, but their compassion may get the best of the crew of the Oppenheimer.
1. The Others Among the Uwda

Juliette Sri _had_ set her tricorder to count down the hours until she could beam off this trial of a planet and see her own face in the mirror again- her pale complexion, her golden hair, her coal black eyes. But that was before, and now, as she carefully wedged a squat metal chair under the door handle to her hotel room and turned up the entertainment center to foil potential eavesdroppers, she formulated the words which would convince Captain Tilmana to extend the mission.

Telepathic contact? Potential new life form? Contact – best not to overstate. Even securely out of sight and sound, she stuffed the tricorder deep into a leather satchel she had gotten planetside and tried hard not to think about how it was made from the skin of another species.

 _I'm sure they had similar barbarism on Betazed, long ago,_ she thought glumly as she pulled out the com badge and tapped it with her thumb.

"Sri to Oppenheimer," she murmured, eager to make a report other than, "Everything is fine down here. How are things in orbit? Fine? Sri out."

Captain Tilmana's voice was crisp over the communicator. "You are thirteen minutes late, Lieutenant Commander."

"I had to make sure I was not observed. This city is a seat of a major government, and it seems their legislators spend more time spying on each other than governing their populace."

"Planetary societies come in many shapes and sizes, Lieutenant Commander," Tilmana reminded her with a high-minded tone that irritated Juliette. "Commander Syvok has already beamed up with the rest of the away team."

She wondered if he'd be so pragmatic after three weeks of steeping in a brew of ego and drama that made up the mindscape of the Uwda. "No sir, I've felt a presence, and needed to be away from the other crewmen to be able to sense it better." She set the communicator aside as she checked the mirror. During the first three weeks spent in holographic immersion training on the U.S.S. Oppenheimer, her new face had been novel - a complexion that flowed as a beige sunset down her face - walnut on her forehead, taupe at the end of her chin. Her eyes were brilliant orange; her pupils thin horizontal slits. The face was no longer novel but remained alien.

"A presence? Other than the Uwda?"

"It's not the Uwda, but a lifeform the preliminary exploration teams didn't discover, sir. It's faint, but pervasive around high populations of Uwda, and seems somehow connected to the malaise and paranoia many of these people often feel. It might be a small community of telepaths, or latent psionics in the population in general."

"Proceed carefully, Lieutenant Commander Sri. If you have discovered a new life form, keep in mind that we are here to observe and report."

"Yes, sir."

"Do not initiate any contact, telepathic or otherwise. The Uwda are barely out of the atomic age and firmly in a pre-warp mindset. Maintaining the Prime Directive is paramount."

"Yes, sir," Juliette said obediently, but thought the Uwda were so self-absorbed and self-centered, they'd hardly notice if someone beamed in right in front of them.

"Be careful. We will keep an open channel of communications and monitor your tricorder." He paused, and added with an amused tone, "Make sure you get rid of any modifications to your appearance before you beam up. You know how particular Dr. Fenna is."

"Yes, sir," Juliette said though she had made no _additional_ alterations. During the second week of immersion, Juliette dyed the ends of her ebony hair a vivid plum. Dr. Fenna, never one to miss a chance to be aggrieved, complained she had carefully designed the face to be non-descript, and Oppenheimer's new chief science officer was turning herself into an orion concubine. Juliette stubbornly pointed out entertainment videos from immersion and insisted being too plain would stick out among the ostentatious Uwda.

Surprisingly, Captain Tilmana had sided with Juliette - which infuriated Dr. Fenna, who threaten to _really_ make Juliette the center of attention by lengthening her ears. Uwda ears were slightly longer than a Vulcan's - without the graceful curve or backward tilt - and ended in rounded, walnut colored bumps. The Uwda proudly put them on display, and if the entertainment videos were to be believed, the tips of the ears were an erogenous zone. Juliette was merely annoyed they peeked up and disrupted the usual lie of her bob.

"When you get back, perhaps you should make time respond to your family."

"What?" Juliette felt a hollow pit open up in her stomach _. What have they done now?_ "Captain, I-"

"Very good, Lieutenant Commander. Oppenheimer out."

She buried her tricorder and communicator in the bottom her satchel before she checked out of the hotel. As she stepped outside, Oppenheimer and family messages became part of another world. In this one, a cool breeze chilled an otherwise warm midday as she slipped in amongst the lives of a busy city. Few passersby - buried in their thoughts, their lives, their errands - even noticed her, even as their rainbow outfits tried to draw her attention. At an intersection of walkways, she closed her eyes and let her awareness drift until a she felt the presence she had been tracking before. She followed it across the street and into a small park.

As she stepped on the grass, her gaze was drawn to a solitary park bench near a small grove of broad, squat trees and thick bushes. A smartly-dressed Uwda sat on the bench eating his midday meal. What lounged lazily on the bench next to him wasn't an Uwda at all. He – she guessed it was he – was dressed in the same business attire as the Uwda with whom he shared the bench. While the Uwda's suit was a blinding cascade of color, the other's suit was a flat grey. It had waxy, bluish skin, and seemed almost as tall as the Uwda it sat with, but it was leaner and hairless, with blunt puckered ears instead of the upward thrusting cartilage. It was likewise eyeless, with wide sockets smoothed over with pale skin. She'd never seen anything like him in the entertainment videos or the first away team's report. She meandered closer until a broad Uwda in a dark suit and a bulky earpiece stopped her.

"I require identification," he ordered before she could formulate a greeting. His head was shaved, and the skin on his scalp was the palest shade she'd seen on an Uwda. Juliette made certain not to stare at his ears as she assessed his mood. To the off put Uwda, she was a threat first and a person second. She quickly produced a small plastic card with embedded circuitry. Oppenheimer's decryption protocols had broken the encryption of Uwdan identification cards in a matter of minutes and replicated one that should withstand scrutiny; however, Juliette was not eager to put it to the test.

"I do not want any trouble. My card is in order," she said, both mentally and verbally. She loathed using invasive manipulation. _The things I do for the Prime Directive._

He barely looked at the card before flipping it back to her. "The governor doesn't like being disturbed during his meals." She felt the bodyguard's self-importance in being overwatch for one of the dozen or so heads of state.

She frowned and touched the bodyguard's awareness briefly and found that to him, the governor was alone. She ran her fingers through her hair and cast a sidelong glance toward the governor to verify his strange companion was still there.

"I am expected," she said with a firm push, as she quickly added, "Sorry I'm late."

"I can only allow reporters fifteen minutes."

Juliette thought quickly. Sometimes pushes took subjects places she didn't expect and she wished she had equipment suitable for a reporter. "Fifteen minutes, right," she responded briskly.

"I'll have to search your bag and pat you down."

"I was already searched." She felt cruel pushing him so easily.

"My time is being wasted here. Move it."

She approached the bench carefully. The governor flipped through a view screen in his lap with one hand and ate some sort of roll out of his other hand. As she got closer, she felt the other beside him as more of an echo of the governor's presence. He looked over at her, licking grease from his meal off his fingers, she felt him try to identify her, and gently eased his sense of familiarity. "I think I recognize you."

"Soorie, From - " She skimmed his mind for a name he hoped to hear. "The EsterFan Post."

"And how may I help the Post?" he asked magnanimously. The other looked her over lasciviously as it plucked up half of the governor's lunch. She thought it odd the governor didn't notice the missing food as she groped for a reasonable answer.

"You promised me a statement on your tax policy."

He sighed. "I wish my policies were still moving forward, but I have to deal with this silly piece of legislation," he scowled as he read, "an ordinance against carrying a dormitor on flywheel trains." The creature next to the governor became attentive to the conversation.

"Doesn't a dormitor weigh several tons – I couldn't even fit one on a flywheel train. Don't people find the law rather nonsensical?" She fought to keep her attention on the Uwda governor as the other creature leaned forward as if to whisper in his ear. Perhaps it did, but she did not hear its words with her ears until the governor spoke them aloud. She just felt them flow between it and the governor.

"I know. It's the purpose of the legislation – to gum up legislature with useless laws. But, as you know, I am obligated to let the legislature hear out every petition.

"But, aren't dormitors almost extinct and live on the other side of the planet?"

"I suppose that is all the more reason to pass this important piece of public service," the governor pronounced with a roll of his eyes before his expression became earnest. "My enemies are using these frivolous laws to slow down my initiatives!" While the governor was the one speaking, the creature next to him was prompting him with a whisper that only the governor was meant to could hear.

"Enemies, sir?" Juliette asked as she kept her eyes on the governor so that the other was not aware she could see it.

"My political enemies, of course!" He paused and glanced toward his bodyguard as he leaned in. "We're off the record, aren't we?" The creature had likewise leaned toward her with a chilling synchronicity and rested a pale, bony hand on the governor's shoulder. Juliette could hear his soft breathing and see the blue tint to its long fingernails as the governor whispered, "I feel I can trust you—"

The governor reached out, touching her arm - a harmless moment of connection - but for Juliette a small contact that changed the governor's paranoia from a tiny high whine to a shrill scream. She jerked her arm out of the governor's grasp, covering her revulsion with a nervous laugh and broad smile before he could take offense. She forced a serious look to her face with a slight nod. "Of course, we are." She forced herself to nod as she took a step back. "But, I believe my time is up-"

The creature leaned back slightly as if regarding Juliette anew. She kept her gaze on the governor until the creature leaned back to the governor, and ran a pale fingertip along the outside of his ear. Abruptly, the governor's fear subsided, replaced by a renewed interest. "I would prefer to leave you with something more...substantial."

Juliette ignored how the governor and his strange companion leered as she smiled. "You've given me more than enough to start with – maybe I can do a piece on how these useless laws are keeping real work from getting done."

"I like how you think. We could do a lot together, we two." Again, the words were spoken by the governor but said by the other.

Juliette buried her revulsion deep in her gut as she smiled enigmatically and hastened her steps backward. She had to get away before the other realized she was aware of it. With scarcely a nod to the bodyguard, she crossed the street and took an alleyway between the row of hotels that surrounded the park, and squeezed at the com badge at the bottom of her bag for reassurance. She darted down increasingly narrower streets and alleyways, unable to shake a feeling she was followed. She reached out with her awareness to feel if any of the Uwda were near and brushed against a cold presence.

"Oppenhei—"

Their mutual surprise echoed off each other as they collided. She pushed against it to get away. It lost coherence of mind and entangled against her. They both struggled to untangle themselves until Juliette shielded herself and slid away, leaving it twisting in its confusion as the alleyway took on a golden hue and disappeared altogether.


	2. Oppenheimer

Her senses struggled to adjust to the transport, and she felt the coiled focus of Lieutenant Tran and the tense determination of another person before her vision could discern the tall, alert Andorian peering at her over his raised phaser. He stood protectively between her and the transporter officer who was focused intently on the console. As the golden veil of the transport faded, the transporter officer said something to Tran which Juliette couldn't quite hear, and Tran relaxed.

"Welcome back to civilization, Lieutenant Commander," he said as he holstered his phaser, his pale eyes and deep blue antenna focused on her. "It's alright; we weren't sure you were coming back alone. No need to be alarmed."

She stepped off the transporter pad and immediately turned to the turbo lift. "I'm not alarmed. I'm fine."

"Then why are you shaking?" His eyes cut to her hands.

Juliette looked down at her trembling hands, her fingers twitching.

"It's just adrenaline. Where are my gloves?"

Tran held out a pair of dark blue gloves. Neither the climate nor Uwda society permitted them.

 _I am master of my mind and body,_ she thought as she slid the long gloves halfway to her elbow. The trembling in her hands subsided.

"I don't think I've ever seen you without them," Tran said.

"They prevent inadvertent contact."

Tran's antenna slightly dipped as Juliette felt him distracted by his confusion, but only for a moment before he refocused. "You're to report to sickbay. Commander Syvok's orders."

Juliette sighed and asked with a sullen look, "Couldn't you just beam me back down to the Uwda?"

"Dr. Fenna isn't that bad," Tran said lightheartedly as they proceeded to the turbo lift.

She felt a surge of anger and dread. "She isn't? Then why does my staff wait until she's off watch to report to sickbay?"

Tran's thick eyebrows knit in thought, "Mine too." He shrugged. "Honestly, so do I. Okay, you're right. She is that bad."

As they walked, Juliette asked, "Lieutenant, why did the captain know my family is trying to contact me?"

"They set up a priority one channel -"

"Priority one?" Juliette asked with alarm, "Why wasn't I told?"

Tran chuckled. "Because there was no emergency. Your sister thought her messages were not getting to you, so she used the priority one channel to make sure someone responded."

"What?" she asked as her worry dissolve into anger as Tran continued to chuckle. "It's not funny, or do you want all two thousand families sending false emergency messages just because they feel ignored?"

Tran hid his smile, but his antenna maintained an amused position. "Of course not, Lieutenant Commander."

ooOOoo

Dr. Fenna snapped her medical tricorder shut with an irritating snap with enough force to cause her ornamental earring to bounce wildly.

"The good news…" She let her words trail off as she opened her tricorder again, looking concerned at the readout. Juliette followed the deep lines along the Bajoran's eyes and neck with her gaze and grudgingly reminded herself that elders were to be respected.

"The good news is…" Juliette prompted.

She snapped the tricorder shut again. "It isn't lupus."

It was a test of will not to roll her eyes. "It never is. May I go now? It's very important I report what happened with the Uwda."

"Have you forgotten your com badge and tricorder were set into a passive mode to record your oh-so-very stimulating conversation with the governor as he made a play for those ears of yours? I told you that dying your hair was going to get you treated like some-"

Juliette recalled. "Oh, that's right, So the captain is-"

"-sitting down with Commander Syvok right now and pouring over every bit of data. It beats having to suffer through that squeaky voice of yours. The good captain will have his metrics, and you will be measured, like it or not. So sit! Besides, you have a large contusion on your leg."

Juliette frowned, having barely noticed the angry red bruise on her thigh. She prodded at it and winced slightly. "I must have run into something while trying to get out of sight."

"Brave _and_ graceful _,"_ Dr. Fenna said dryly as she ran a dermal regenerator over the area. The angry tangle of purple faded to a less tender green. Dr. Fenna snatched Juliette's arm firmly to stop her descent off the bio-bed. "Hold on, I need to get you out of your Uwda get up and back to your plain self."

Juliette shook her head. "Leave it, I'll be going back down."

Dr. Fenna narrowed her eyes at her. "Haven't you had enough of a planet of primitive yahoos and testing the limits of the Prime Directive?"

She bit back a retort about finding plenty of primitive yahoos on Bajor. "There's another species down there. One that's telepathically aware."

"So?"

"So," she said in a patient tone, "This is a species on a planet that we've been studying for quite some time – a species that is advanced enough to have planet-wide information networks - and yet this second species doesn't appear at all in their entertainment videos or in their newsprint or their history. It's- It's a sentient species the supposedly dominant species of the planet knows nothing about."

Dr. Fenna's earring jingled slightly as she shook her head. "Even if there is, we should just record their presence and leave it at that. You reported yourself that you think they might be too self-absorbed and incurious about the galaxy to even develop space flight, let alone warp drives."

"But perhaps we shouldn't just look at the Prime Directive regarding warp drive, and take other factors into consideration – things like medical technology –"

Dr. Fenna waved her off with a snort. "I've seen their medical technology. The cardassians had instruments of torture with more therapeutic value."

"—or psionic talent."

"So, you want to have first contact with every species that tickles your cerebellum?"

"Telepathic ability is located in the—"

"I know where it's located, you black-eyed know it all," Fenna snapped. "Speaking of such, I want to check your psiloynine levels." She consulted the tricorder again after making some adjustments. "You did have uninvited psionic contact after all." She brought the probe around Juliette's head muttering, "I hope they bought you dinner first."

Juliette maintained a deadpan stare. "My levels are always elevated. The Uwda are a rather self-absorbed people, which are not as much of a strain…"

Dr. Fenna snapped the tricorder shut again, her voice taking a hurried, authoritative tone "Need I remind you who is the doctor here? Oh, that would be me, in the white uniform. See, you are the science officer, who babbles about phase-."

"Might I remind the _doctor_ that I too am a doctor and that psionic sciences –"

Dr. Fenna gave her voice a spooky quality, "You bend spoons with your mind."

"That's telekinesis. I'm primarily telepathic."

"An out of control telepath."

"Are we done _now?_ " she asked, her voice taking on an andorian chill. She clenched her jaw slightly and sensed Dr. Fenna's satisfaction that she'd broken Juliette's emotionless veneer.

Dr. Fenna snapped the tricorder shut in triumph, her bony fingers tight around the case. "Yes, now we're done. The captain wants all senior staff at the briefing. Don't be late."

Juliette brooded quietly all the way to the staff meeting and quietly took her seat. Captain Tilmana sat at the head of the table, the benzite's exoskeleton nearly as blue as her uniform. Commander Syvok was on his right. Lieutenant Tran was early, busy with reports on his PADD. Only Chief Engineer Bridgeway flashed her an easy grin she quietly took her seat.

"It seems Lieutenant Commander, " Captain Tilmana said, pausing to inhale from his breather, "that the presence you sensed turned out to be something after all. Top marks. I expect your full report by the end of your watch."

Juliette smiled faintly. "Thank you, sir. I'd like to propose that we request from Starfleet command to extend our survey mission so that we can learn more about this other species."

Syvok said, "We already have orders to proceed to Defera, lieutenant commander. Another survey team will be able to pick up where you left off."

"Sir, it could be months before a qualified team could be put together when the Oppenheimer is fortunately suited to the task."

Syvok and Tilmana exchanged a look. "Explain."

"This other species seems to be able to cloak itself from non-telepathic species. Another survey team might miss them just as the first did."

"They can use the readings we got from your tricorder to calibrate their own," Syvok said with finality. "How were you able to detect these creatures? It is unusual that you were able to detect this entity while I did not. I have spent a similar amount of time around the Uwda as you."

She was grateful the Uwda modifications to her face helped hide her initial reaction to Syvok's question, and responded in a cool, direct tone she had used many times on Vulcan. "Is it so unusual that I would detect something you did not, commander? Vulcan telepathy is strongest through physical contact. My own range and sensitivity is far greater than yours."

Syvok arched a brow at her. Juliette tilted her head slightly.

"Our passive scans with the tricorder," The chief engineer interrupted, "gave us general biological readings of this other species. The tricorder wasn't put into active mode because we didn't want to trigger any of the Uwda's security measures. While we _might_ be able to calibrate it to detect this other, it could only do so at close range."

Lieutenant. Tran added, "-and get shot by any number of Uwda ranged weapons."

Bridgeway nodded to Tran. "If we had an active scan, calibrated to avoid detection by the Uwda, it would allow for even a non-telepathic away team to get a closer look."

"There is logic to your reasoning," Syvok conceded.

Captain Tilmana leaned forward on the table, regarding her. "Lieutenant Commander, you had telepathic contact beyond simply detecting these creatures?"

She nodded. "Yes, sir. It was brief, but it was a definite moment of contact."

"And? What did you learn?"

"I have not fully processed the experience, sir. I had planned on meditating after this meeting to recall all that I could. I suppose I could concentrate and recall what I can right now."

Syvok said, "I would be able to assist—"

Juliette flinched back quickly. "Thank you, that will not be necessary."

As Syvok regarded her curiously, she felt Lieutenant Tran's stare bore into her over a long, uncomfortable moment. He shifted in his chair slightly as his antenna slowly angled toward her, and his surprise become pointed suspicion as he asked, "Doctor, did you examine the lieutenant commander for psychic trauma?"

The suspicion spread across the table and Captain Tilmana eased back in his seat. Even Syvok slid his chair back slightly. She felt their tension as a thin wire at the back of her mind, whining out a sharp pitch as it stretched to the breaking point. After a pause that seemed to last hours, Dr. Fenna said, "I did. She had elevated levels, but nothing outside the norm for her."

She felt the wire slacken, and herself added, "I'm fine, really. I've already had one unwelcome contact today. I would be more comfortable doing this myself." It was a half lie, and only Syvok's arched eyebrow indicated he had caught the insinuation.

"Proceed, Lieutenant Commander." Tilmana said.

She rolled her neck and forced herself to deepen her breathing. She let her eyes relax, then close, and for a moment held herself at the edge of dozing as her head drooped. She didn't force the words, but let them come as they would, tumbling as freshly remembered memories.

"Go away. This one is mine. No, wait, you're not. Who are you? So cold and slick, wait, What are you? You're not Uwda, you're not s-Sklan. You're not Sklan." She was quiet for several moments, then scrunched her eyes slightly, then opened them, lifting her head back. "There's nothing more to learn at this level, I'm afraid." As she looked to her fellow officers, only Syvok was unperturbed.

"Did these 'Sklan' get similar information?"

Juliette thought for a moment before she answered, "I do not think so. These Sklan seemed to look at me as just another Uwda. They were much more surprised at the contact. But I'm very concerned about the sense of ownership I felt, and how easily the governor was being manipulated."

"Clearly they are strong telepaths."

She shook her head. "Not necessarily, sir. The Uwda seem to have few defenses against telepathic influence. Taking advantage of that – it's cruel." She felt an angry edge creep into her voice.

Syvok said, "It may simply be the nature of the relationship between the Uwda and Sklan, and it indeed may be cruel, but it is not our place to right what is possibly simply an evolutionary wrong."

"Be that as it may," Captain Tilmana said, "I'll put in a request to Starfleet."


	3. Preparations

Juliette failed further unravel the tangle of sensation from her inadvertent contact on the Uwdan planet, despite her best efforts at meditation and downing half a pot of her favorite tea. Whenever she attempted to descend deeper into her memories, the cold sensation of the governor's touch on her arm or the sudden, perverse closeness of the Sklan would jolt her back to consciousness. After several attempts that ended with her huddled in her robes, shuddering in revulsion, the sound of the room chime came as a relief, despite the fact she felt no presence behind the door.

"Enter."

Bridgeway swaggered in after the door slid open. His red-brown pompadour was barely regulation and he had a lopsided smile that gave him the air of a mischievous boy, rather than the chief engineer of the Oppenheimer. He was clearly excited as he plopped down cross-legged in front of her, casually mocking her form and leaning in conspiratorially. "I heard the captain talking to Commander Syvok. Starfleet Command approved his request for further study of these 'Sklan' of yours."

"They're not my Sklan, they're our Sklan," Juliette corrected though obviously pleased. She set out a second teacup and poured out of habit. Out of habit, he took the cup in his hand. "Thank you for supporting the idea."

"It was a good idea, Lieutenant Commander. I'm requesting permission to be on the away team."

Her smile fell away. "Absolutely-"

He hopped to his feet and stepped back dramatically. "Behold!" His form melted and reformed as his skin darkened. His clothing twisted into a tantrum of color. When the transformation was complete, he put his hands on his hips, an Uwdan colossus astride the world. "We'd make a pretty good pair. What do you think?"

She rose and circled him contemplatively before she settled back into her meditative position, her robe billowing slightly. "Passable, but your ears," she laughed, "– are a bit outrageous." He laugh melted into a sigh. "But Lieutenant-"

"Think about it, they can't cloud my mind, because I'm not organic."

"James, you know full well, that as a photonic lifeform, you are a technology well beyond anything the Uwda-"

He reassumed his place across from her, his swagger absent, his face grave. "Jul, please. Don't say no. It would be great to be somewhere that I'm not just some light show."

Juliette stopped in mid-pour. "Light show?!" She set the pot down with a loud clack. "That's hardly a professional way to address a photonic-"

He held up his hands. "Hold on, everyone's professional. Perfectly nice and professional - but the way they look at me sometimes – they know when the emitters go off, I disappear," Bridgeway said morosely, sipping at the cup. "I'm not a person, I'm a light show."

"James, stop," she soothed. "Do you know how valuable to the captain are - how valuable to all of us?"

"Valuable enough for Captain Tilmana to order you to build me?"

"It's unprecedented. You are a photonic lifeform based on a living person-"

"I'm an extra hand because Oppenheimer's senior staff is overworked. This ship has more hats than heads to wear them. I don't need to be a Betazoid to see how exhausted everyone is." He rubbed his eyes and laughed ruefully. "The only reason I get tired is because I'm programmed to."

Juliette put her gloved hand on James'. "Have you talked to Ship's Counselor about how you feel?"

Bridgeway looked at her incredulously. "Dr. Fenna?"

Juliette maintained her solemn expression for several heartbeats before they both burst out laughing. "No, James, I'm serious." She attempted to look serious.

Bridgeway shook his head. "I can hear her now. 'You just gotta suck it up, buttercup!'"

Juliette laughed again despite herself. "Now, now, stop. She is my peer officer and a competent doctor."

"But the worst counselor in seven systems. Why aren't you ship's counselor?"

"I'm already chief science officer and head of operations. Do you want me to get any sleep?"

"Jul, I'm serious as the phage here."

"Why should I be the counselor, because I'm Betazoid?" She shook her head ruefully and muttered, "A pox on the fifth house for pigeonholing us."

"No, no, you should be the counselor because while people fear Dr. Fenna, people respect you. _I_ respect you."

Juliette smirked and murmured, "Never heard a Terran try _that_ line."

"Now who's pigeonholing? Besides, it's ex-Terran, thank you. "

"For all practical purposes, you are—"

"Don't change the subject."

"James," she said sadly. "I won't do it. I can't do it."

"Why not?"

She wriggled her gloved fingers at him and said, "Because to be an effective counselor you have to be able to connect with people."

"You connect with people all the time."

"On my terms. But to be a good counselor, it's not always on your terms, sometimes it's on someone else's. And you can't stop because of headaches, or nosebleeds or seizures from an overload of emotional stimuli." She sighed. "The emotions of those around nearby almost killed me. I nearly killed people because I couldn't control myself. I spent years on Vulcan learning manage to my condition."

"You didn't seem all that keen on Vulcan techniques in the staff meeting."

She sipped her tea quietly and paused uncomfortably before she spoke. "Let's just say that Commander Syvok was around while I was on Vulcan. We have…history."

Bridgeway's eyes went wide and he brayed with laughter. "You black-eyed heartbreaker!"

"No! Gods, you are such a Terran." She shook her head, laughing, and then abruptly stopped. "Nothing like that. Nothing I want to talk about right now. Okay? Please?"

"Roger that. Sounds like you need to get your away team in order, though. You're sure I can't go?"

She studied him for a long moment before answering. "I'm sure."

"Permission to be on ops when your team goes down?"

"I'll put in the request to Commander Syvok," She said, smiling. "But in the meantime. I would like you to do something for me."

"Name it," he said as they both stood.

"I made a holodeck program that I only want you to see. It won't work until the away team is on-planet."

"Secret stuff huh? Personal?"

She shrugged noncommittally. "Of a fashion. You'll need the passcode." She rested her hand on his shoulder as she whispered in his ear. His shoulder was solid and warm as he leaned slightly into her touch. His reaction was so very human, and her response - to reach out telepathically - was so very Betazoid. But instead of a deeper connection, she found nothing, like an android or a hollow statue. She remembered to smile as he left.

ooOOoo

From the quiet of her room, she immersed herself among the Uwda - watched their entertainment and news videos, read and listened to their media - practiced the most common - and some of the not-so-common local customs. As the week progressed, she let messages from Betazed accumulate and focused on getting used to the face in the mirror. She kept the Uwdan alterations on the entire week despite Dr. Fenna's insistence she could re-apply them in short order. With the universal translator, Juliette only heard and spoke Uwdan, and was amused when it tripped over words like 'plasma conduit,' 'tricorder', and 'Sklan.' As the week came to a close, she felt an eagerness of discovery mixed with a desire to be home.

Captain Tilmana intercepted her on the way to the transporter room. "Lieutenant Commander Sri, a word."

She sensed his urgency and discomfort. She kept her expression passive. "Captain, if this is about my family abusing the priority one channel, I've sent them guidelines on the appropriate use-"

He shook his head and said, "Yes, yes. Very good, Lieutenant Commander. Actually, this is about the concerns you had voiced concerning the - rightness of the relationship between the Uwda and the Sklan."

Juliette both heard and felt the minefield of his suspicion, and realized she had to proceed carefully. "Captain, it seems as though the Sklan are telepathic while the Uwda are not. Just as the sighted shouldn't take advantage of the blind—"

"I do not disagree, but we also cannot interfere with natural development between species just because one is taking advantage of the other."

"You are concerned that I will break the Prime Directive."

"I am," Captain Tilmana said directly.

"Captain, your rebreather," Juliette glanced down at the device Captain Tilmana held delicately between his two fingers.

"What of it?"

"Wasn't there a time when Benzites didn't use them for recreation but needed them to survive for long periods in a standard atmosphere?"

His eyes narrowed as his facial whiskers curled warily. "It seems you're circling a point, Lieutenant Commander."

"Sir, the Federation has long held tenets against genetic enhancement. The decision that permitted Benzites to genetically modify themselves to be able to breathe standard atmosphere was contested vehemently among the Federation Council– "

"That was not an enhancement! Benzites had been genetically modified by an outside influence. That had nothing to do with the Prime Directive."

"That is true, sir. However, it took a great deal of research to determine that was the case." Juliette didn't need empathy to sense his irritation. The debate over rebreathers had nearly been enough to cause Benzar to leave the Federation, and those hard feelings lingered. "We know very little about this situation. I'm just advocating that we should keep our options open. I will not intervene on behalf of the Uwda without orders to do so."

He tapped the rebreather against his chin thoughtfully and studied her for a long moment until he said, "I agree that we need to measure before we cut. I usually do not send my number two and number three officers on the same away team-"

"—but no one knows the planet and their customs like I do. I will make sure our actions stay within the boundaries of the Prime Directive until ordered otherwise."

"I must make it clear that Commander Syvok will be in charge of the operation - I'm sure you understand."

She assumed a stony expression hardened from years on Vulcan as she replied, "Yes, sir, I completely understand."


	4. Back among the Uwda

In the transporter room, Juliette found that Dr. Fenna's skill with Uwda disguises had improved. Instead of her fellow crewmen, she saw a quartet older, gray-haired Uwda. The doctor had even remembered to add varicose bulbs to the ends of their ears. They wore clothing suitable for their age - garish, but not as extreme as those worn by younger generations. While the Uwda disguises fooled Juliette's eyes, her mind quickly identified Syvok's disciplined thoughts next to the brilliant and strong presence of her fellow Betazoids - Ensigns Borin, and Telanta. The last she identified as Lieutenant Angh. Juliette recalled Angh's people - Napeans - were powerful empaths and doubled her defenses. Angh, still unused to the Uwdan disguise, plucked uncomfortably at his ears until he sensed Juliette's chagrin. He abruptly stopped and looked at her sheepishly.

 _I apologize, they make my head itch terribly,_ he thought to her.

 _Never do that in public. Ever._

She approached the quartet, her bare hands clasped politely in front of her as she greeted them in Uwdan. Their replies were passable, but their accents alarmed her.

"I cannot place your accent. Do I know your homeland?" Juliette asked.

They looked uncomfortably between each other until Ensign Telanta, her long hair pulled back in a thick ebony braid, carefully asked, "Have you heard of the Talok Canton?"

Sri shook her head gently. "Even if I had, I don't know why you would talk about me. As I am the center of my world, I am the center of my words. When I talk, I talk about me, or how things are to me. I only speak of you as a sign of great respect. For example, if I were your child or your servant, I would speak of you, instead of me.

Ensign Telanta nodded curtly. "I'm sorry. I will remember to do so. Perhaps I should have practiced Uwdan more."

Juliette felt the ensign's worry and insecurity. She smiled and encouragingly patted Telanta's shoulder - careful to avoid her bare arm. "I can practice with you at the station. I am confident things will go well." She added in standard, "You'll do fine, Ensign. You look very convincing."

Telanta smiled back tentatively, connecting the moment their gaze met. She let the ensign feel nothing but her confidence and let her draw from it freely.

Syvok, his facial hair waxed to a small point on his pale chin, dryly interrupted. "You will have to indulge in your support network later - our time is short." He looked directly at Juliette. "I trust the captain has briefed you on your role as advisor in this operation?"

Juliette kept her expression pleasant even as she felt Ensign Telanta's mood sour, "Of course, Commander."

Syvok nodded curtly and announced, "Remember everyone, our objective is to get a tricorder reading on one of the Sklan. However, your tricorders are to remain hidden on your person. You will only need to get within ten meters of a Sklan for the tricorder to activate itself and get a more detailed scan. Once it has completed its scan, it will vibrate, which is your signal to return to the Oppenheimer.

"To improve our chances of finding a Sklan, we are transporting to one of their transportation hubs - a train station. The station's layout should not differ from our holodeck simulations. There, we shall stay near the central hub and wait for a Sklan. If there are no questions, let us proceed." He waved them to the transporter pad, where they took their places.

"Syvok to bridge. Is our destination free of nearby Uwda?"

There was a brief pause before the bridge responded. "Sensors indicate you're clear, Commander."

Syvok nodded to the transporter chief and said, "Proceed."

ooOOoo

In seconds, the transporter room was replaced with a dim hallway covered with yellowed tiles that served as a lonely causeway between a secondary hub and a seldom used terminal. The causeway was interspersed with panes of smudged glass that ran along the walls, ceiling, and floor. They allowed a view of the winding track and trains below and provided sunlight from above. Between each pane squatted a row of uncomfortable chairs. As the trains below prepared for the day's run, the smell of petroleum wafted into the station despite the heavy thrum of circulating fans. The footfalls of the earliest commuters echoed distantly against the tiles of the station as the metal wheels of trains screeched against metal tracks.

Syvok murmured in standard, "At this time of day, travelers carry beverages, similar to coffee or raktajeno. Sri, go with Angh and purchase some."

Juliette looked to Syvok, and asked in Uwdan, "Am I to get beverages for everyone?"

"I would prefer it so."

"I will do so, then," Juliette said, smiling conspiratorially to Telanta as she turned to walk with down the corridor. Syvok's accent was even worse than Telanta's. To her credit, the ensign kept the smile off her face, but not out of her thoughts.

Ensign Angh followed Juliette down the hallway to a sparsely attended rotunda. A few of the earliest Uwdan commuters listlessly loitered as they waited for the first trains. A beverage vendor's ornately decorated cart was on the other side of the concourse. Juliette ordered a suitable beverage for everyone on the away team – a hot, mild stimulant with added sweeteners called klok. For herself, she ordered what was described on an overly-decorated sign as a 'flavorful, yet relaxing tea.' The vendor offered Juliette a cup as she started brewing the klok.

 _Shouldn't you have ordered a klok like everyone else?_ " Angh thought to Juliette as she handed over her identity card _to pay._

 _Not everyone drinks klok, and no one will know what's in the cup anyway. I cannot drink stimulants or depressants. Besides, I have yet to try Uwdan -_ She noticed a small tag that hung from the side of the cup. She waved the cup and tag at the vendor, "I do not recognize this."

"I heard you order tea. I gave tea. Hot water is over there" the vendor said, indicating a row of carafes.

Juliette pulled on the small tag. It was connected to a tiny pouch that imprisoned a collection of crushed brown leaves and dust. _Barbarians_ , she thought bitterly when a sudden sensation of alarm and worry from the vendor made Sri and Angh exchange glances.

"Is there something wrong?" She asked the vendor who fought not to look flustered.

"Oh no, no, not at all. I-I need to check on something," The vendor said as she quickly turned and jabbed her finger against a communication device.

Juliette looked back at Angh whose expression of alarm told her he had felt the klok vendor's lie as well.

 _What happened? The merchant is very nervous_. Angh fiddled with his long hair as he pretended to wait for the klok merchant.

 _I don't know yet. You should go. If you are asked, you were just chatting me up._ She gave him a broad smile. "I am glad I met you. I'll catch up, okay?"

Angh nodded a little, then more as comprehension dawned. "Yes, yes of course." His gaze darted to the merchant, who was thankfully too busy to notice his terrible grammar.

Juliette felt Ensign Borin's tense push to communicate with her. _Lieutenant Commander, Tran says he was monitoring the station's security system. They have been alerted your identity card is a fake._

She immediately turned away from the klok stand and briskly walked toward one of the side exits. She heard the merchant say, "Wait, stop!" and felt the attention of a few of the loitering Uwda. She met each curious gaze with one of her own and planted a realization in each of them.

 _My train is late; my boss will fire me._

 _My stock options are failing._

 _I left my convection cooking device on._

One by one, their neatly arranged worlds were in chaos, with no time for a panicked klok merchant. With their worry came a surprising rush of energy she used to break into a run.

 _Lieutenant Commander Sri._ Syvok's connection was weak - he'd never been a good ranged telepath.

She concealed the energy bubbling inside her. _Yes, Commander Syvok? I am a bit preoccupied avoiding capture, sir._

 _Are you at a safe place you can be transported back to the Oppenheimer?_

She settled to a brisk walk down a service corridor, straightening her hair. _I am not, sir._

 _You are to proceed to a secluded place so that you can be extracted._

 _That was the plan, was it not, sir?_ She exited the corridor to the parking lot. The sun was rising. Sleepy commuters were coming to the station. In less than an hour, the station would be crammed with tens of thousands. She had to be gone before then.

 _Yes, the contingency plan if the mission was compromised is to—_

 _Not that plan sir. The beverages. You had me buy them. I paid, and my identity was compromised. Were you worried I'd interfere with your agenda?_

 _Agenda? Of course not. I do not worry, Lieutenant Commander._

 _I imagine you do not, Commander. There is a first time for everything._ She shoved Syvok away easily and left him fumbling as she pulled her com badge out of her satchel and disabled it with a twist. She considered tossing it away for good measure but shoved it back in her bag. Along the roadway that wound alongside the terminal exit, she found a vehicle with a waiting driver wearing a neatly pressed gold suit. In his hands, he held a large placard with a name written in careful script. She nudged the driver to recognize her.

"I was to be met at the side entrance, now I'll be late," she chided the driver. His sudden worry made him easier to push, and he subserviently held the door open for her without question. Soon, the transit station was a rapidly diminishing cluster of buildings in the vehicle's' rearview mirror.

ooOOoo

Bridgeway entered the holodeck. It always felt a bit – recursive.

"Computer, play program Sri-41."

"Lieutenant Bridgeway detected. This program requires a passphrase."

He frowned. She had put an identity lock on the program already. A passphrase was redundant unless she was keeping the program from someone - someone who could duplicate him. The thought only increased his unease.

"The passphrase is: 'Death shall have no dominion.'"

"Access granted."

The program was a hologram- a frozen moment from the staff meeting a week ago. They were all seated around the table - Captain Tilmana, Commander Syvok, Lieutenant Commander Sri, Dr. Fenna, Lieutenant Tran, and himself. The moment Juliette had captured was when Syvok had reached toward her to help with the memories from the contact with the Sklan. Juliette had recoiled - everyone had assumed - from Syvok. James felt a growing apprehension as he realized she had not recoiled from Syvok.

A passable holo-sculptor, Juliette had added a pale, eyeless figure that stood next to Syvok – one that only she had seen.


	5. Among the Sklan

As she nudged the vehicle around the city, Juliette realized while Vulcan telepathy shielded her from the raw emotions the Sklan inspired in the Uwda, Betazoid techniques - far more sensitive to emotion - would be more effective in locating the Sklan. Her experiments were as successful as they were painful, and from the opulent darkness of the vehicle, she pressed her thumbs against her temples to stave off the pain and watched their hidden world.

The Sklan were more numerous than she initially thought - young or old, affluent or poor, they seemed evenly distributed amongst the Uwda. While the Sklan seemed aware of each other, they were not particularly social and lived as parasite loners with no society of their own. She imagined with amusement the irony of the Sklan she stumbled upon before trying warn the others, _Brethren, there is an alien that travels amongst us. We cannot easily see it, and we do not know its purpose._

Late in the afternoon, she discovered not one, but two Sklan close together. She abandoned the vehicle and driver at the edge of a meandering park and stalked the looping paths which parted green fields, small copses, and manicured playgrounds. Near a small pond, she found the pair sitting as bookends to a pair of Uwda enjoying a picnic. The Uwda sat on a blanket spread out on the ground, nestled against each other, their meal basket unopened. His hand rested on her shoulder; her hand delicately over his. Juliette smiled at the affection they radiated and looked sadly to her own gloved hands and sighed.

The Sklan closest to the young man murmured into his ear. The young man spoke the whisper aloud and Juliette felt a chill replace the warm glow of affection from the girl. She looked at him abruptly, her eyes flashing as the other Sklan prompted her terse reply. The Uwda's tender moment became a bitter back and forth, orchestrated by their Sklan.

Their anger burned white-hot in her mind, but Juliette focused beyond the pain to see how the Sklan removed themselves from the perceptions of the Uwda, to make themselves entirely unobserved. Amazed, she studied the phenomena as long as she dared, until her eyes blurred with the compounding pain, and was forced to look away, her stomach boiling.

Despite the waves of nausea, Juliette was desperate to try the technique herself. She sat folded over on a bench and clutched at her head as she gulped air until the turmoil in her head and stomach became tolerable. She rose shakily and hunted for a test subject. Further down the path, a solitary Uwda sat at the edge of a fountain, reading a book. She watched him, felt his awareness, then gently touched with her mind. At first, she fumbled removing herself from his scene and he glanced over toward her, sensing _something_ , but as she found the rhythm, he settled back to reading. When he surreptitiously looked about before discretely scratching at his ear, Juliette forced herself not to explode with laughter.

Juliette lightly slid off her perch and stood right in front of him, close enough to touch. Oblivious to her presence, he remained focused on his book. She playfully brushed a page of his book back. He flipped it back without so much as a look in her direction. She grinned as she pushed another page. A rush of energy accompanied his annoyance as he flipped the page back. She felt the remnants of her headache fade and her stomach settle enough for her appetite to return.

Satisfied with her experiment, she sashayed to the edge of the park and located an outdoor café. She snatched foodstuffs from one table, a beverage from another with scarcely a ripple of recognition from the patrons. She ate at an empty table, the world preoccupied and unaware, when she felt another presence against hers.

 _Lieutenant Commander?_

The contact seemed familiar. _Ensign Bonin?_

 _Are you alright?_

 _I am. Where are you?_

 _I'm close by, sir._

 _Is Commander Syvok with you?_

 _No sir, he's back on the ship. How can I help?_

 _I don't know yet. I need to understand the nature of the Sklan before I can take action. I knew Commander Syvok would hamper that effort. I think somehow a Sklan is influencing him._

 _What should we do?_

 _I'm figuring that out, Ensign. The Sklan seem to attach themselves to a particular person and help bring out their negative emotions – sadness, misery, confusion._

 _I know. Isn't it delicious?_

Sri felt a chill worm along her spine, and glanced quickly around, trying to pick out the Sklan from the thin crowd of diners scattered amongst the cafe. _You're not Bonin._

 _You're not Uwda. You're another in a mask._

 _And you hide from the Uwda. Do they even know you exist?_

 _Only the mad. What kind of face do you have under that mask?_

 _Truer than yours. My face can be seen. Why do you torment the Uwda? Is it for the energy they give off when they're upset?_ She withdrew from the Sklan's presence.

The Sklan followed, easing into Juliette's consciousness. _They're where they want to be, thinking of themselves. They get their obsessions, and we get - something wonderful._

As his presence pressed deeper, she switched her perceptions inward. Her mind became a world, feeding the conventional senses - sight, sound - as real as any - mostly. She let her mindscape match her surroundings and recreated the cafe at the edge of the park. She maintained her Uwda appearance and let the Sklan define his own. He appeared before her, uncomfortably close. Did he choose to be naked to shock her? Or was his host likewise naked? His body was elongated and stretched to stand at least two heads above her, his fingers were slender spears. Thin fibers grew out of his back that formed a fabric that drifted like a veil waving in a ghostly wind and gathered to form a thick, fibrous cord that trailed outward as far as Juliette could see - possibly an umbilical of some kind to the Uwda host.

Juliette quickly backed away from the Uwda, before turning to run. The Sklan followed with long strides. The park's neatly manicured pathway became a narrow passage flanked by rough-hewn basalt walls with knifelike edges. For most, despair as a maze was an allegory. But Juliette had walked the walls many times, through careful meditation and sleepless nights. She moved quickly, being careful to avoid the sudden dead ends and the cliffs that opened into nightmares. Still, not everything was avoidable. Gusts of memory blew through them - the terrors of a girl barely twelve, lost among those who held She was trapped with aliens that held their emotions in vaults and kept to themselves, pleading to come home. The ache was familiar but tempered by discipline and the knowledge that she eventually did return to Betazed. But only Juliette was distracted by the clutch of the memory; the Sklan barely paused its pursuit.

Juliette followed the brooding corridors to memories of a young women returning to a Betazed no longer her home, who locked herself from the eager emotional turmoil - so unlike the Vulcan she was used to. But she was Betazoid, wasn't she? Joys and burdens were to be shared. Those that couldn't were pitied; those that didn't... The chagrin of her friends and family locked away. Worse than those who couldn't share - one that didn't... The hurt was fresh as ever. Lara and Kanara had been so patient, easing her out of her shell - they had been so close. However, the Sklan barely noticed, and Juliette lost ground.

She pressed her awareness back to push at the Sklan. _Do you prefer your miseries fresh, or are they only pleasurable when you cause them?_

 _These hurts have long been healed. Why would I care for them?_

Juliette fled - the icy panic within her growing - not from the Sklan - but from what lay ahead. The maze walls smoothed and the corridors became dotted with columns. Onyx stairways led to punishing meditation cells. Juliette pushed through her growing fear to the naos of her regrets.

The hallway ended abruptly at a neat circular chamber her only exit behind her. The dusty gray floor centered around an antediluvian pillar, notched and worn that plunged into the angry clouds.

The memory housed within the naos was a tangle of recollection and nightmare. At first, there was just the faded shade of Papa - far younger than he was now - on his knees before a still younger Juliette. She awoke to telepathy earlier than most and had felt the moment of Grandmother's passing, and how the family had been with her - comforting her in her last moments. The idea she was somehow gone scared her, but Papa's thoughts had been gentle. W _hen you're older, you'll join the circle. We ease the passing from this world - it is our greatest gift and duty._

The scene changed and a bed framed in black marble sat in the middle of the room, surrounded by a sterile rank of monitors that recorded the failing body within. How unlike mother the patient looked, so drawn and sunken, with blankets draped over her thin form. Her withered arms hung slack, suspended as two of her attending daughters held her hands. - Lara on the left, Kanara on the right. Papa somberly clasped Kanara's hand and reached, along with Lara, toward Juliette to complete the circle. Their palms were open, inviting.

But Lara had died two years before mother's passing. Yet Juliette always pictured her there, her face dark with disappointment.

 _Why Juliette? Why did you abandon the matron of House Sri when she needed you most?_

Juliette avoided looking at her mother in the bed. _She always got better when she was sick._

Kanara's shade shook her head. _We kept a place for you._

 _Please, I wouldn't have gotten to Betazed from the Academy in time - it was four days!_

Lara sighed. _Only death kept me from being there. What was your excuse?_

 _I wouldn't have made it in time!_

Papa let silence carry his disappointment until all asked in unison, _Why did mother die alone?_

Juliette dropped to her knees before her chorus of accusers, her vision blurred with tears.

 _She didn't. She had you. I- I'm sorry, I'm so sorry._

Juliette felt the Sklan behind her. It's cold, bony finger brushed her cheek in mock tenderness.

 _Now that's much better - and now you have nowhere to run._

Juliette took a deep, shuddering breath. _No. This is mine._

She dropped the walls and floor. Even the boiling sky became a vast emptiness. Of the maze, only the pillar remained, stretching infinitely above and below. Behind the Sklan, its umbilicus traced their path - a path that twisted and dipped and looped back on itself. She sent a portion of her awareness back to where the Sklan had entered her mind and pulled hard. The slack disappeared. Loops whistled over her head as they tightened. She twisted to avoid the blur of the Sklan as it was roughly drawn inward and collided with a wet, heavy crunch, its umbilicus knotted around the pillar. Her head pounded from the effort, but stood and wiped her eyes as she floated. The Sklan was tightly entwined against the rough side of the pillar, its breathing labored as it strained against its own umbilicus that bit into its pale flesh.

 _You will release me!_

 _After you release my commander, and the rest of the Uwda._ She studied the thick, fibrous umbilicus that dug deep into the Sklan, and traced it with her fingertips around the Sklan and outward. She placed her hand on the taut, fibrous cord. Her awareness crept along its length back to the Uwda host - an aged, frail man perched on a nearby bench who wallowed in a vague sense of dread that he was getting older and that his wife would leave him. His angst flowed syrupy to the Sklan. With a squeeze, Juliette took it for her own, a slow but steady surge building up in her. She felt the Sklan's helplessness as it struggled. She took that, too.

 _Stop! That is meant for me._

 _Release my commander._

 _I do not have him! Please._

 _One of you has him. I saw it next to him._ She pulled more of the Uwda's misery and frustration into herself. Now there was no pain, only an exhilarating rush of energy, such that she almost forgot about the Uwda, who groaned in agony. _Stop!_

If the misery was a jolt, its pain glowed like a nova of ecstasy. In her hand, the umbilicus had become withered and dark - a dry root in her clenched fist. The Uwda at the other end collapsed off the bench. Could she remove it? There were so many fibers, and they were deeply burrowed into the Uwda. Such an effort would take days, and the outcome was uncertain.

Her attention returned to the Sklan, who clawed desperately at the pillar, hissing weakly. The energy she had taken roared within her, and she threw the Sklan out of her mind with blasé dismissiveness and turned her perception outward with a thunderous sound. Now she had the attention of other Sklan, who regarded her with wary curiosity. She snatched one's umbilicus before it could flee. She savored the rush of the Sklan's terror.

Juliette grinned, content to let those who had tormented the Uwda for so long experience a little discomfort of their own. Both Uwda and Sklan became docile as she took what she could, and used that to find other. The energy shimmered against her perception, and there was still so much more to take. She pictured the Sklan on the Oppenheimer. Did Bridgeway find her warning? Were they hunting the Sklan that had attached itself to Syvok? Or was it preparing to bring more to the ship, to attach to the rest of the crew?

The thought pulled her bemused smile away and left her with a dark scowl. The Uwda as cattle for the telepathic Sklan was terrible, but the idea the Sklan would journey to other worlds created a flare of icy rage so sudden she nearly drained her current Sklan dry. How much energy would it take to extend herself back to the Oppenheimer? How many Sklan would she have to drain? A dozen? A hundred? An entire city? She promised herself to take no more than was needed - even if it was all of them.


	6. Fin: The Uwda and the Other

Captain Tilmana sat attentively in the captain's chair as the reports came in, his fingers fidgeting with the mouthpiece of his rebreather. No, Lieutenant Commander Sri had not been found yet. No, they didn't think she was still at the train station. No, they didn't know why she had left. In between reports he gave instructions. Increase sensors and operate on frequencies that the Uwda will not detect. Do not send a search party yet, but have Dr. Fenna prepare disguises after she has completed her assessment of Commander Syvok.

As she leaned on the right side of the captain's chair, Juliette smiled. He was so engrossed in finding her he could not see her - watching, listening, savoring the roar of power that hummed through her, toying with the idea of snatching away his rebreather to see what kind of energy his annoyance gave. The mention of Commander Syvok in sickbay piqued her curiosity, so she carefully wove her way through the flurry of activity on the bridge to wait for the right moment to slide into the turbo lift with another officer heading for medical themselves.

Much to Juliette's annoyance, Dr. Fenna was already done with whatever Syvok required and was now haranguing Ensign Angh as she carefully adjusted his Uwdan disguise. Juliette carefully maintained her emotions and hid from the Napean's formidable empathy within Dr. Fenna's palpable frustration and searched only enough to determine that neither Syvok nor his Sklan was in sickbay.

She quietly entered the into the strict austerity of Syvok's quarters. The room was dark, lit by a single golden candle; the air spiced with a dry incense that reminded her of the blistering rocks under the Vulcan sun. Juliette gracefully lowered to her knees across from him. Syvok, free of his Uwdan disguise, knelt on a thin mat, his dark brown hands clasped in front. While his meditative technique was nearly perfect, but Juliette could feel the turmoil that belied his stoic exterior.

Juliette frowned contemplatively as she carefully examined him. Where was his Sklan? Its presence had been glaringly apparent in the staff meeting, but now, both it and its umbilicus was hidden. It could not hide forever on the Oppenheimer, but then again, neither could she. She left Syvok to his struggle, realizing the time for quiet searching was over.

The physical center of the Oppenheimer was on deck 34 just past the aft side of the saucer strut. Juliette stood in the middle of the corridor as the brisk traffic of crewmen unconsciously parted around her without notice. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath as she pulled her awareness into a small, dense pearl, clenching it tighter and tighter until she suddenly released and exhaled. It expanded rapidly outward, demolishing all pretense of stealth. Usually, her feeble attempts at telekinesis were accompanied by a painfully intense backlash. Now, the force was a smooth side-effect that force pushed nearby crewmen off balance as her awareness reached the edges of the ship. All those with awareness, those like Bonin, Telanta, and Syvok, resonated against her projection. She recognized all those that resonated but one, and when she determined its location, stormed down the corridor, her fists clenched tightly while an icy rage built into her with each step. _Of course._

Her quarters were exactly as she had left them – the scattered collection of Uwdan recordings, the list of waiting messages from Betazed, the blue-veined Deferi tea set still on the floor next to the small tray of biscuits. But her quarters were already occupied. The Sklan sat pale and golden-haired in a meditative position on the chaise. Her robes were cut in the Vulcan style, but trimmed in the vibrant plum of House Sri. Her hands were sheathed in pale blue gloves. She could barely contain her disgust.

"I didn't know you could change to look like me. Is that something you learned from taking over Syvok?"

"I cannot change my form. I've always been Juliette Sri." She said, looking at her with a solemn expression for a moment that became a warm smile as she indicated the seat next to her.

She rejected the invitation and obstinately stood her ground, shocked by its bold lie. "You have not!" she snapped.

Her simulacrum merely looked back at her for a moment, then said calmly, "I am Juliette Sri."

"No! _I_ am Juliette Sri!" She shouted. "I'm the Third-"

"Scion of House Sri," they finished together.

"I'm Chief Science Officer of the –" she started,

"of the USS Oppenheimer!" again, said as one.

"Shut up!" Juliette shouted desperately.

The other continued calmly. "I spent much of my childhood on Vulcan, learning to control my abilities before they killed me. My mother is dead; my eldest sister is now matron. Lara died in service to Starfleet. I miss her."

She slapped her hands over her ears, the painful ringing at prevented her from hearing that _thing_ repeat her litany. She shouted down what little sound crept between her fingers until her throat burned. "No! No, no no!" She pulled her hands away to hear her own shouting. "I'm Juliette Sri I am!" as she reached throughout the room. The cups and saucers of the tea set rattled and flew as porcelain missiles toward the others. At the last moment, their trajectory bent away from their target to shatter loudly against the walls. Her PADD exploded against a console on the wall. The smooth glass surface became a delicate web of cracks. When there was nothing left to throw, she hurled herself - to hit her, to pull her hair from its head, kick her teeth down its throat. But her lunge was halted as her muscles refused to obey.

"No!" She cried out, startled and angry. She could not move as the other held her in place. "I have…all their power...how?"

"I am master of my mind and body. You don't have _all_ their power. You have all their pain. All their frustration and anger. Theirs, and mine."

She regained enough control over one hand to reach up to her face."This is just...a mask. I'm Juliette! _I'm Juliette._ " She dug with her nails despite the pain, desperate to tear the mask that separated her from the truth.

"Stop," she said sadly, "You're hurting yourself."

She pulled her hand back, the nails bloody, her cheek burning. Her frustrated tears of rage burned in the red furrows. "I hate you."

"I know."

"I hate you. I hate your thin voice. I hate that you're weak. I hate how you can't touch anything."

"I know," She calmly repeated as she rose from the chaise and pulled off her gloves. Were her fingers actually so delicate and pale?

Juliette writhed in terror, turning her face away from those terrible hands. "Let me go!" Her voice was raw and jagged between sobs. The fingers were cool and soft against her bloody cheek. She shrieked.

"Please! No, it's all that I have!"

"No, it's not. You have me."

"I don't need you. I never needed you! I'm the Scion of House Sri. You came on this ship with Syvok after stealing his identity. I won't let you take mine!"

"I never stole Syvok's identity."

"I saw you right next to him!"

"I wasn't close to Syvok. You were."

Her breath froze as she pictured their placement in her mind. There was Syvok, and Juliette and the other – shadowy and indistinct then, but still visible to her. It had leaned closer to them both hands resting on…her breathing returned, frantic. "No, no no. please. I hate you. I'm Juliette. I am! I am."

"You are. You're just as much Juliette as I am. I love you. I need you. I can't _be_ without you." Her eyes glanced downward.

Her head was free to follow its gaze. Hundreds of fine, delicate fibers sprang from her arms and arched gracefully back beyond her vision. Then she saw the sallow twisted vine of umbilicus between them. Her breath caught as her eyes slid along its length. Her eyes caught the black eyes of the other. "We could-"

The other shook her head. "No, There is no removing it."

"Then there is only- Her legs gave out and she sunk under the weight of realization. "Please," she begged, hating being so weak. "I don't want to die."

Her other knelt beside her slowly, her robes billowing on the floor. "You won't. I won't let you. I can't let you." Her fingertips felt light and delicate as she gently she forced their eyes to meet. "Tell me why I didn't attend mother's passing."

"You already know."

"I need you to tell me."

"I can't. I'll destroy you."

"We can't rebuild unless you do. Tell me. Please."

Juliette looked into her other's eyes and saw her apprehension. The words tumbled out of her. "You were afraid! The emotions would have overwhelmed you, and you would have lost control. It was too much, and you were too weak. You've always been weak. You failed your house, and they pity you." She hated saying the words, hated her for having to say them.

The other didn't look away from the truth, but her breath stopped for a moment. She nodded. Her cheeks were wet as she brushed away Juliette's tears. "Thank you." She tenderly kissed the Uwda forehead, and embraced her, pulling her tight muffling her terrified despairing whimpers against her shoulder, pulling her tighter and tighter until Juliette was gone, and only Juliette remained.

With nothing to lean on, she fell forward, her whole body shuddering, her hands splayed on the carpet, stung by shards of broken pottery.

 _I am master of my mind and body, s_ he thought between desperate gasps and continued to shake.

The door hissed open. Ensign Telanta and Lieutenant Bridgeway, phasers drawn, looked warily into the room. "Who's there?"

Juliette held up an arm weakly. "It's me. Don't shoot."

Bridgeway looked around the room while Telanta stared at Juliette. "Wait, how did you get here?"

Juliette fumbled for a response. "It's .. difficult to explain."

"You're injured," Telanta said as she reached out with her presence.

Juliette gratefully took the support. She wiped her eyes, her cheeks still wet, and managed a weak laugh. "Aren't we all?"

Telanta's expression held confusion and worry. "Lieutenant Commander, Lieutenant Bridgeway showed me your holo-program. Is the _thing_ still on the ship?"

"It never left. It's..always here."

"Sir?" Telanta asked warily.

Juliette shook her head, groping for a simpler answer. "It's…we're in no danger. No..immediate danger." She looked at her gloves on the table and wished she could wear them. The shards of the Deferi tea set speckled the carpet. She hoped nothing was so broken that it could not be repaired. "Ensign, I should examine everyone who was away on the planet. I think there is an influence that must be stopped- no, managed - before it goes too far."

"Yes, sir. I'll let everyone know."

Bridgeway coughed politely.

"Sir?" Telanta asked.

"Ensign, just who the devil are you talking to?"

oOOoo

Juliette opened her eyes to a cafe of listless Uwda and their terrified Sklan. Her touch, this time, was gentle as she surveyed the damage. Perhaps there would be some variation in the flavor of distress the Sklan inflicted on the Uwda - unknown terrors from those stars they had so long ignored, but they would heal and, in time, return to their normal.

She hid amongst a quiet copse of trees. The throbbing started at the back of her head and erupted in her eyes. She tapped her com badge. "Sri to Oppenheimer."

"Lieutenant Commander. Ensign Telanta said we'd be hearing from you."

"I have the data we came to get, sir. Permission to beam aboard."

"I anticipate a fascinating away report in my future. Does that mean I have precognition?"

"I'm sure we could run some tests, sir."

oOOoo

At Juliette's request, there was tea in the ready room. Even Bridgeway drank it.

Dr. Fenna asked, "Is this a reward for having to read your report?"

"Was it really such a chore?" Sri asked. "I did try to make sure the section on the psilosylene enhancers was exciting enough for you."

"The section on ego breaks was a little long. You could have just kept it to bi-lateral personality." She kept staring at the constellation of blood clots in Juliette's bloodshot eyes, framed by the light pink of her skin, scrubbed free of Uwda modifications - her own face at last.

"That's just about the two sides of the ego – the dark and the light. Bilateralism doesn't talk about how they complement each when in balance."

Lieutenant Tran shrugged. "All too technical for me. I'm still struggling with the idea that the Sklan are the manifestation of a split personality among latent telepaths."

"I can attest," Syvok said, "that is indeed the case, and that the longer the split occurs, the greater the polarization of the halves." After a moment of silence, he quickly switched topic."I find most Betazoid tea too flowery for my tastes. However, this is surprisingly palatable."

Sri accepted it as a compliment. "I have always been partial to the 2409 cutting of the Jestral leaves, and make sure there is a copy in the replicator. My mother was invited to that cutting by the Eighth House of Betazed. It was a great honor, and reminds me of her."

Captain Tilmana said, "I'll see to it our new operations officer keeps it out when the replicator programs are cycled."

Dr. Fenna frowned at Juliette. "New Operations Officer?"

"I'm taking on other duties."

Tilmana said, "Ship's Counselor is a demanding task. Are you sure you want to remain Chief Science Officer as well?"

Bridgeman looked at Juliette. She briefly shrugged.

"I'd certainly like to give it consideration, sir."

"Your report was very thorough, Lieutenant Commander, but I did not see any recommendations for further action."

Lieutenant Commander Juliette Sri cradled her teacup in her hands as she quietly looked out the viewport, marveling at the stars the Uwda found so uninteresting. "I do not think any are necessary, sir. This is something the Uwda will have to work out themselves."

* * *

End Notes:

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